I don’t know when this sad feeling began gnawing deep within my old yet still conscientious soul. I just know that it was long after I made that stroll in a new-found little forest of tall trees that wasn’t there before. In the farm that then already brought joy to a child’s heart of mine, I was now pleasantly surprised that after more than a decade a green paradise had sprung up and given a reason for my twenty-something heart to smile a grand.
It was in the late 80s when I last went back to our family farm and walked into a glade in the middle of giant trees for the first and, sadly, last time. The little forest that apparently thrived on the upper level of our land, just above where the edge of the unruly Allah River used to flow—before it left a huge swamp between our land and the river when it left to follow its new path—drew me, like magnet, to go under its shady canopy on that unforgettable hot summer day.
As I entered the coolness beneath the towering trees in what I first thought was just a plant kingdom, I looked up as I heard a cacophony of bird sounds. Behold, a big family of beautiful parrots dressed in bright red and green! My eyes feasted on that beautiful sight until my neck was too stiff to continue looking up and watching and enjoying the free show of the winged actors on the stage of branches and twigs against a backdrop of verdant leaves and a cloud-dotted blue sky high above.
I don’t remember telling anyone about it—not even my brother and his family who lived there, and definitely not his son who, like any child in rural Sultan Kudarat, knew how to skillfully use a good homemade slingshot. Perhaps that’s because my heart told me it was just our little secret. And perhaps because I knew that for some hungry Filipinos a beautiful parrot, even if it can talk like you do, can be turned into a special Adobo!
Many years have passed and now I live far away across the Pacific Ocean where one can just forget everything he’s left behind. But how can I? How can I forget a place that brings very happy memories of my childhood? Dipping my overheating energetic small and hairless body beside our big farm carabao’s hairy and bulky one in the cool and limpid pool surrounded by tall reeds where I imagined schools of tiny Haluans swam away from us and hid with their dads and moms, for instance, was a paradisiacal experience for myself as a child. There were many other wonderful memories. But a memory that brings both joy and sadness to my heart is about that little forest and the parrots that sheltered and lived in it. Devoid of sorrow, they sang and played like there was no tomorrow!
Indeed, there was no tomorrow for them there in our farm. Their fate was sealed by an arbitrary human decision that favored humans. Or did it? The lady whose family bought a portion of our land told me the little green forest was now gone! The tall trees were cut down and the timbers were carried away somewhere across the river to build the home of some guy’s family and then some.
It’s quite sad the little green forest is now gone. And it’s even more sad that the family of beautiful parrots or their descendants are also gone. Their home, the little green forest, was destroyed. Poor little parrots! Where are they now? Have they survived?
Why can’t we, humans, just build homes but not at the expense of the little parrots?
Are you apprehensive about what others might say because you are already happy with what you believe to be true, and don’t want to change?
Such uncomfortable feeling is usually felt when you see others as having more knowledge in certain areas, and you feel that you can’t effectively defend your position.
For example, we don’t want to talk to an insurance or car agent on our own because we believe they have more information than we do; and we lack the information to “defend” ourselves. That’s why we bring along a friend or a family member who we believe know more about insurance policies or cars than we do to help us out.
We may know quite a few about certain personal truths that we hold dear, but we also know that we don’t have the knowledge that the experts we admire and have relied on and who “speak for us” might have.
My hunch is that we may have depended too much on experts, especially when making decisions. And we shouldn’t! We should learn things for ourselves.
Our doctors, for example, may be experts in medicine, but it helps us a lot if we learn more about, say, certain diseases. Armed with sufficient knowledge, we can help ourselves make the right decisions, which may be related to matters of life and death. And if the information we find from more reliable sources are better than what our doctor recommends, then it may be time to consult with another.
Thank God that these days information is just a Bing or Google away! We can even get the help of an AI to find information that would definitely take a lot more of our time if we’re doing research on our own and in a physical library.
When after learning more about a certain topic and we find that a certain “personal truth“ overlaps “objective truth” (anything that anyone anywhere finds to be true as a result of, say, scientific research or it is accepted by experts in the field) then that’s great! You don’t have to change your personal truth to the objective one because they’re about the same, except perhaps to make little amendments here and there to make the former more like, if not the same, as the latter.
But what if your personal truth is contradicted by objective truth? Would you abandon it and embrace objective truth?
What you do about objective truths would depend on what you are. If you are a “personal truth defender” then you would defend your personal truths or might just avoid conversations related to them. But if you are an “objective truth seeker” your’e not afraid to know the truth. And, as they say, you “follow the truth no matter where it leads.” And that is quite liberating!
As Jesus said, in John 8:31-32, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Last Sunday we talked about The Parable of the Ten Virgins. Some of you may have already forgotten about that. Today I’m reminding you about that parable because it is closely related to The Parable of the Talents, which is the basis of the sermon today.
Sometimes we come across passages in the Bible that are closely connected to each other. Such is the case of the apocalyptic passages we find in chapters 24 and 25 of the Gospel of Matthew. The editors of the New Revised Standard Version or NRSVUE have divided them into 10 passages each with each own heading.
Now that is like a 10-course meal in a Chinese restaurant. The only thing is that it doesn’t end with the usual fortune cookie. The last passage, which will be our text next week, is not all sweet, but like the fortune cookie, it tells us what our fortunes will be. It is about judgment which can be sweet or sad. But I promise, I’ll do my best to help all of us escape judgment or damnation.
So how are The Parable of the Virgins and The Parable of the Talents connected? Let me point out what I think is the connection between the two: The Parable of the Talents picks up the question that the conclusion and application of The Parable of the Ten Virgins raises:
13 Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.
The Parable of the Virgins, which reminds us to be always aware that the Lord is coming again, also reminds us that his coming has been delayed and that we don’t know the day or hour of his arrival. Therefore, as the parable teaches us, like the wise virgins, we are to be always prepared and ready for his arrival. What the parable, however, has not really answered for us is, ‘What must we do to get ourselves prepared and ready,’ or ‘What does it mean to keep awake and be ready for the Lord’s arrival? The Parable of the Talents answers that.
What does it mean to keep awake?
To keep awake does not mean to never sleep. If you remember, the wise virgins also slept just as the foolish ones did.
5 As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. 6 But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’
What does it mean then to “keep awake” while we’re waiting for the Lord’s coming? The Parable of the Talents answers that question in a more comprehensive way.
The thing however is, the question raised in the previous parable is answered by Jesus telling another parable! And like any parable, we are faced with the same challenge: interpreting a parable. And that’s not easy, especially because we have a tendency to say things it does not really say.
Having said that, we must try our best because it is extremely important that we interpret this parable correctly and apply it appropriately. The reason is because it is very important that we understand why “The Grand Wedding Party” at the coming of Jesus, the bridegroom, will be open to some but closed to others. Yes, we now know that we are to “keep awake” to be ready enter the coming Kingdom of heaven, but what does it really mean? ‘What does it mean to “keep awake”?’
To answer that question, Jesus begins by saying,
14 “For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them…”
Keeping awake has to do with what we must do for our Master who has gone away. The man, the master, is going on a journey. Now if that gives us the idea that Jesus has in mind his own going away, we are correct. The fact Jesus that keeps talking about his coming in chapters 24 and 25 obviously implies that he is going away first before his coming again can happen. And indeed, at the very beginning of the next chapter, 26, he predicts his death:
1 When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, 2 “You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”
Jesus died, but that’s not the final stage of his going away. When he rose from the dead, in John 20, he said to Mary,
17 … “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
This is the same truth that we proclaim when, at the Lord’s Supper, we recite the Memorial Acclamation: “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.”
So, while the Master is gone, the slaves are to get busy doing his will. Indeed, they must do his will. It is not an option for a slave who has no ownership rights of her own, even for a bond-slave (which is probably what is meant by the Greek word, δοῦλος, here) who willingly and voluntarily offered herself to be a slave for her chosen master.
Strong’s Greek word studies tells us that “doúlos (‘bond-slave’) is used with the highest dignity in the NT – namely, of believers who willingly live under Christ’s authority as His devoted followers.” 1 And that, my friends, is a good reminder of our own master-slave relationship: Jesus our Lord is our Master; we are his slaves; and serving him is not an option! He owns everything; we do not own anything. Everything belongs to him, and so we owe everything to him, including our lives, and without him we are nothing! Serving Jesus, our Master is not an option; it is a must!
Keeping awake has to do with being trustworthy with what the Master has entrusted to us.
In this parable, the master entrusted his property to his slaves. We can better understand that if we know exactly what that means. And to know what that means we want to know what is included in the “property” that Master has entrusted to us.
The parable does not tell us in detail what that property is. But we know that whatever is given to the slave, who has no right of her own, belongs to the master. Therefore, anything the slave has is her master’s!
But in this parable, the slaves are given something specific: talents. And what they do with the talents will prove their trustworthiness or lack of it. It will also serve as our guide as we get busy doing things with whatever our Lord and Master has entrusted to us.
I’m sure you have already heard this before: talents in this parable are not special aptitudes or abilities or skill, although I think it can be applied broadly as to include them. Talents refer the weight of gold or silver or bronze that were used as currency or medium of exchange in Jesus’ time.2
So, what did the servants do with their talents so that they were declared by their master trustworthy?
The “good and trustworthy” slaves doubled their talents
At once 16 the one who had received the five talents went off and traded with them and made five more talents. 17 In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents.
Again, we’re not given the details of what or how they did it but the two slaves who were given 5 and 2 talents, respectively, doubled the weight of the money! Now that’s a pretty good investment compared to last year’s S&P 500 Annual Return, which was only 26.89, or the last 10 years’ return at 138.8%. So today, we may consider this the two guys’ investment strategy as moderate—not conservative nor aggressive. They may not have the same amount or weight of money, but both have the same exact rate of return: 100%!
I don’t think we should insist that we all have the same “rate of return” for whatever it is that our Master has entrusted to us. I think the principle here is that we are to use whatever our Master has given us in a way that would please him.
The master is pleased with the two slaves so that at his return he commends them with the same commendations, entrusts them with more, and both are given what I believe to be the ultimate joy that a slave can experience:
‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things; I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’
On the other hand, what the slave who was given one talent and what he does with it tells us what not to do with our own, whatever that “talent” might be.
The wicked and lazy servant hid his one talent
Why does the servant who is given one talent hide it?
First, he does not really know his master that well. His own words betray his wrong view of his master. When the master returns and the day of reckoning has come, he said to him,
“Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you did not scatter, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’
Calling his master “a harsh man” is an unfair judgment, especially because a bond-slave is one who willingly gives herself to a master. Why would a person do that? There must be great reasons why people would give themselves as slaves to a master. When you’re poor and starving, would you rather die, or give yourself as a servant to a master who is known for goodness, kindness, and generosity?
The wicked and lazy servant, on the day of reckoning, tries to judge his master. And his judgment lacks understanding for even if the master reaps where he did not sow or gathers where he did not scatter, he does not reap and gather for himself. In fact, he does not get his talents back; instead, he gives them back to his slaves who are good and trustworthy and productive! Indeed, the one talent that was given to him is taken away from him and given to the one who has the most talents:
28 So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. 29 For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance, but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.
But although a bondslave is regarded to have the highest dignity among slaves, it is not his place to judge his master. He doesn’t get to do that. That’s not the role of a slave. It is the master who is the judge.
And thus, the master condemns the wicked and lazy slave:
26 But his master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I did not scatter? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest.
Second, the master judges him not because his talent did not yield 100% like the investment of the two other slaves’ but because he is not wise enough to do something about it so that it grows even just a bit, like when it is invested with a banker.
The language of the master seems to say something like what might happen today if you invest your money in a bank: they offer the lowest return of investment. Nevertheless, if you don’t know how to invest, say in stocks, perhaps the safest and surest way to grow your money is to put in a savings account that yields about 4% annually. But 4% is better than 0%!
Going back to the wicked and lazy slave, it looks like the master would have given him the same commendation as the good and trustworthy slaves who doubled their money, if he invested his money in a no-sweat “investment for dummies”: with a banker. But he did not. Why? He does not really know his master and what he can do for him, and because he is a lazy servant. And the way he judges his good, kind, and generous master, makes him wicked!
And so, the master condemns him:
30 As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
While “the good and trustworthy” slaves are welcomed to the “joy of (their) master, “the wicked and lazy” and “worthless slave” is banished from the presence and joy of his master and to a place of utter darkness and painful sadness and terrible regret.
Does the Lord know you? Do you know the Lord? But doesn’t that look like we are to work for our salvation so that unlike the wicked and lazy and worthless servant we will not be condemned and thrown into the dreadful outer darkness?
No! Although we may be tempted to get some help by interpreting this parable with the help of other with Scripture texts that, like Ephesians 2:8-10, that might be considered clearer or straightforward on the role of faith and work in our salvation, we do not have to do that. We have enough in this parable and the previous one to make sense of the basis for reward and judgment which seems to have to do with work trustworthiness, laziness, and wickedness, respectively.
In other words, the parable seems to say that those who are good and work hard will be rewarded with eternal joy in the presence of God; on the other hand, those who are lazy and wicked will be condemned and thrown into hell. But we have to understand that this parable of the talents is closely connected the previous parable of the virgins. There, in the Parable of the Ten Bridesmaid, the young women who had no oil for their lamps and were unprepared for surprise coming of the bridegroom, were pleading for the bridegroom to open the door that was shut: ‘Lord, lord, open to us’ (v. 11), But the Lord replied,
“Truly I tell you, I do not know you’” (v. 12)
That statement reminds us of what Jesus said in Matthew 7. After warning his disciples of “false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves” and who they will know by their fruits or lack thereof (vv. 15-20) he said,
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; go away from me, you who behave lawlessly.’
In other words, to be “known” by Jesus is the root and foundation on which anyone who calls Jesus “Lord, Lord” grow from, and like a tree, they will grow and bear good fruits. Doing the will of the Father in heaven is something that only the true children of God can do! Work alone without such relationship with God would not do. Salvation or entering the kingdom of heaven is not based on works, it is based on faith and our relationship with God who gave us his Son so that through faith in him we may be saved from sin and eternal damnation.
Such faith grows out of our knowledge of God who has revealed himself through his son, our Lord Jesus, who is represented by the in the Parable of the Talent. And that’s why we should not be surprised that the lazy and wicked slave does not really know his master. He judged him as a harsh man and one who exploits his slaves. The truth, however, is that he is a good and generous master who does not get his talents back but instead gives them away to those who are good and trustworthy and whose faith in their master is shown through their faithfulness to him!
So, the questions we may ask ourselves are these: Does the Lord know me? Do I know the Lord?
The fullness of the kingdom of God that our Lord will inaugurate when he returns is a place of indescribable joy. To be in the kingdom of heaven and be in the presence of our good, kind, and generous Master and King will be fullness of life made perfect. Our Lord and Master has given himself to us—he lived and died for us–and he provides everything we need to serve and please him. And serving him is not just for his glory and honor but also for our own benefit because he, as Master, owns everything and does not need anything. And that is why he gives it all back to us and shares his joy with us now and more so when he comes again!
Maranatha! O Lord, come!
——
1 String’s Greek: 1401. δοῦλος (doulos) — a slave (bibleapps.com) 2 The Four Coins Jesus Knew – CoinsWeekly; see also v. 27, “money” is used for talents
If a narissist parent can put his family, including his children, at risk, as a country’s leader, he can also put the whole nation, including his fanatic followers, at risk. Thus, it is unwise to choose a narcissist to lead a powerful country and the world.
It is quite disturbing that a new poll finds a great number of people prefer a narcissist, who also appears to be an aspiring fascist and who is now facing charges for conspiracy to defraud his own country, for a leader to one that has in reality helped his country and the world to make some progress despite the seemingly insurmountable challenges.
We can live with an old “sleepy” person (not a lot older really but looks healthier than the nacissist fellow) who has allowed us time to take a break and enjoy what this country has to offer and be refreshed, but we cannot and should not tolerate a crazy and egotistic person who barks like a dog at anyone and for any reason to rule us. So, before that even happens, nip it in the bud and give us a break!
Small trees are growing Forest fires are raging Women are giving birth Men at war are killing Some visionaries are helping save the planet and humanity from ruin Some missionaries just don’t care— saving souls for heaven is their calling
These realities can easily make us mourn our death in advance Just as hell’s orchestra is just as ready to play an eerie requiem Until we begin to believe we can all be united together for the good of all We’re just like the Guyana folks who drank the Kool Aid and lied down to die In this universe we must choose to survive and thrive Or humanity will be forever forgotten
“I never gave up, I never raised my hands and said, ‘That’s enough, I can’t take it anymore, you win’… And because of that, I stand tall now, ready for what comes next.’”**
Did Matthew Perry win or lose in his battle with drugs and alcohol? It’s hard to say and I don’t want to speculate.
But before he died, Matthew Perry said, “I never gave up, I never raised my hands and said, ‘That’s enough, I can’t take it anymore, you win’… And because of that, I stand tall now, ready for what comes next.’”
I admire Perry’s determination to never give up. But was it really enough? Did he succeed? I don’t know. But looking at other people who also struggled with drugs and alcohol and failed, it seems that willpower alone is not enough to quit bad habits.
I’ve been listening to James Clear’s lessons in “Building Habits for Success” on MasterClass.* And in it he also talks about quitting bad habits and uses smoking, the classic bad habit example that many people are trying to quit.
There may be other ways and techniques to use to win, but rather than focusing on the goal (such as quitting smoking), Clear recommends having a system and using strategies that would help us quit bad habits and build good ones that would lead to success.
One of the techniques he recommends is to begin with an identity you choose for yourself now, rather than being someone who is trying to achieve a certain goal in the future. Thus when offered a cigarette, you can simply say, “No, thank you…I’m a non-smoker,” rather than say “I’m trying to quit smoking.”
I think the new identity that you choose for yourself could help greatly, especially if it is socially shared and reinforced (so yeah, Facebook, for example, can be helpful in that regard).
The Bible says something similar to that:
“…if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17 New International Version).
When you share such identity in Christ, your being ‘a new creation in Christ’ can help you live as such!
*https://www.masterclass.com/classes/small-habits-that-make-a-big-impact-on-your-life?utm_source=Organic-Social-PR&utm_medium=iOS&utm_term=Aq-Remarketing&utm_content=Share; not a paid ad
Image Credit: Анна Романцева (@anna_romanceva), Threads
It’s the Real Thing, Not the Shadow, that Remains By Ed Fernandez
Dusk approaches. But for this solitary oryx, the day isn’t done.
This simple, beautiful image seems to say: there’s no end in sight for the invisible trail it treads.
As the sun’s fading rays strike its athletic form, a giant shadow stretches across the sand— distorting the creature until it’s almost unrecognizable.
“Is it on a boat?” That’s my wife’s amused query. (Well, the setting is a desert, baby!)
What an amazing image this is— and one that reminds us: what appears large and obvious may be a distraction. A mirage of meaning, perhaps— something that vanishes when the light shifts.
For when the sun has set, the shadow is nowhere to be found.
“White evangelical Americans are more willing to endorse political violence than their non-Christian counterparts, according to a new survey from the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI).”
That is indeed “disturbing.” And considering the fact evangelicals have been known for being “heavenly minded” and for expressions like “this world is not my home,” that can also be surprising to other evangelicals who don’t seem to care about what’s going on in our world.
But that’s not really surprising. As Donald Trump have risen to political power (he still wields power in the GOP) and have also fallen from it (particularly to those who acknowledge his defeat to President Joe Biden), so also many evangelicals have emotionally experienced both these highs and lows but are not willing to accept defeat. And that’s why evangelicals who “patriotically” support Trump are willing to do anything, including violent acts, or at least condone them to make America great again (MAGA).
To hurt and kill others is not the way of Christ. Violence has no place in the Kingdom of God in which Christ Jesus is The Prince of Peace. And so it seems that some evangelicals have misunderstood the Christian faith—that to follow Christ is to follow the way of peace. But like Peter who did not understand the goal of Christ’s mission and the way to accomplish it, they are willing to draw the sword. Just as Christ rebuked Peter, these evangelical “sisters and brothers” also need our Lord’s rebuke!
Why have some of our sisters and brothers in the larger Christian community become so radical that they are willing take up or support others who are ready to take up arms? My theory is that because they have become part of the MAGA kingdom and their thoughts and efforts have been focused on that. Thus, the Kingdom of Christ has become blurry and perhaps something that can only be enjoyed later. But for now, it’s the MAGA world that occupies them.
What do we make of this MAGA evangelical phenomenon? I don’t want to make a judgment and say that faith in Christ may not really be there. But from my perspective, I think many evangelicals, not just the MAGA ones, have misunderstood the Christian faith. A rational Christian who knows how to interpret Scripture texts the way they should be interpreted would know that many evangelicals, when talking about their faith and the Bible, often misunderstand and thus misapply what they read.
A case in point was a conversation I had with a Christian who supported Trump as a presidential candidate. He believed that Scriptures show that he was anointed by God, like he was a messiah. Trump himself being keen on what his supporters say and peddled around, picked up the idea and repeated them using Twitter, which was then called his “megaphone.”
On November 2, 2020, I wrote the following;
No one has expressed such grandiose view of Donald Trump more than Wayne Allyn Root, who described himself as a “Jew turned evangelical Christian.” Such praise had not escaped Trump’s attention. How could it? Wowed by a comment worthy of royalty…he tweets:
“Thank you to Wayne Allyn Root for the very nice words. ‘President Trump is the greatest President for Jews and for Israel in the history of the world, not just America, he is the best President for Israel in the history of the world…and the Jewish people in Israel love him….
“…like he’s the King of Israel. They love him like he is the second coming of God…But American Jews don’t know him or like him. They don’t even know what they’re doing or saying anymore. It makes no sense! But that’s OK, if he keeps doing what he’s doing, he’s good for….
….. all Jews, Blacks, Gays, everyone. And importantly, he’s good for everyone in America who wants a job.’ Wow!”
Let me repeat the line that perhaps made Trump feel like a god: “They love (me) like the second coming of God.” And that might have reinforced his narcissism and explains why he does things the ways he does, like a god! And MAGA evangelicals, in turn, whose views about Trump has been reinforced by his words and actions that portrayed himself as a savior or messiah (a symptom of fascism), unconditionally commit themselves to him. Right or wrong, Trump is the savior of America and the world!
I hate to bring rain on my fellow Christians’ parade but ‘After Death’ is really not about AFTER death experiences but Near Death Experiences or NDEs–experiences by those who almost died but for some unexplainable reason “came back to life” or survived, which is undoubtedly an amazing thing that can happen to anyone. And yes “going to heaven” after they have supposedly died has been shown as an experience not exclusive to Christians. Thus Christians (and Christian moviemakers) cannot make the claim that it is only Christians who have pleasant NDEs as they supposedly went to heaven after they died for that would be misleading.
Here’s one person who has watched a Netflix documentary on NDEs have to say:
I just watched the series Surviving Death on Netflix.
A lot of people who appeared aren’t born again Christians or even Christian at all. In fact some of them were hardcore atheists before their experience. But they all had positive experiences which profoundly affected and changed them, made them better people who lost their fear
I grew up in the evangelical tradition and was taught that all non-believers (and even most believers who are not “born again”) will go straight to hell after death, while only born again believers go to paradise and have happy experiences.
But the stories told in this series flatly contradict that claim. It seems what you believe here isn’t important at all and that most people have profoundly positive NDEs regardless of their religious faith or lack of it. These experiences don’t “lead people to Christ” either, people who have great NDEs don’t suddenly get the conviction to convert to Christianity.
How to explain this given what the Christian faith traditionally teaches about death? (And please don’t say all the positive non-Christian NDEs are just “demonic deceptions”, if that were really the case then nothing in life can be trusted.)*
Let not that question confuse you. Here’s a little background on why I ask such question:
Yesterday I preached on a passage in Romans that included the following verses:
Romans 9:30-33 New International Version
30 What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; 31 but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness, have not attained their goal. 32 Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone. 33 As it is written:
“See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame.”[a]
Footnotes [a] Romans 9:33 Isaiah 8:14; 28:16
Gentiles have obtained righteousness whereas the Jews have not. Why is that?
The reason is because the Gentiles DID NOT PURSUE righteousness* through faith, that is, not through their own effort but God’s through Christ’s redeeming work.
The Jews, however, PURSUED THE LAW as THE WAY of righteousness; and because that was (and is) NOT GOD’S WAY, they failed to obtain righteousness or justification.
By the way, the statements above are generalizations about Gentiles and Jews. They do not state what appears to be already obvious: that not all Gentiles have obtained justification and that not all Jews are condemned. The truth is, not all Gentiles have responded to God’s grace through faith, and not all Jews have rejected God’s way of obtaining justification through faith.
To some folks it’s a strange thing that people who did not work for it get it while those that did didn’t. And I guess that’s why they cannot accept justification through faith alone but somehow also work for their salvation as well. They do not admit that, but their words betray them.
Now why is it that trying to obtain justification through the law does not work?
One of the reasons people provide is that no one can fulfill the law 100% and thus through law justification is not obtainable. The implication of that, however, is that if the law can be fulfilled 100% then justification can be obtained.
The problem with that idea is not that the law is useless because it is definitely not! Just imagine a busy city without laws or, at the least, no traffic rules. Chaotic, right?
But observing the traffic rules because we don’t want to be fined and have a bad driving record, or worse, go to jail is not as good a reason as being careful in our driving so that we do not cause any accidents BECAUSE WE CARE about others; and we don’t want to hurt or cause anyone’s death.
I think those that emphasize the law too much miss the point and might have forgotten that what we have as creatures is a love relationship with our Creator (I capitalize the first letter of the word as I don’t want you to think that I’m thinking of something else other than God); and that such relationship is not “just a piece of paper” (like the commandments written on the pages of the Bible).
Indeed, if we believe in and love God, we show our love by doing God’s commands. But let’s be careful that in doing so our affection is not shifted from God to the Law of God for there seems to be a very thin line between them.
It seems to me that some Christians who believe in the work of Christ have been out of focus because of their over-emphasis on God’s commandments instead of focusing on the One who gave those commandments.
Every time I have a chat with some of them, or they post something on social media, they almost always talk about the strict observance of a literal Sabbath and other Jewish festivals, and the commandments and other things related to them.
What these Christians and fellow believers are often saying is that Christ has not changed things, or something to that effect, especially when talking about Old Testament laws. Well, he has! If he has not, they’d probably still be offering animal sacrifices for the atonement of their sins! (But I won’t be surprised if some of them actually do.)
The crux of the matter here is this: if we focus on God who loves us so much that he gave his only begotten son, Christ Jesus, as THE way for our redemption and in response to such wonderful grace believe, then we’re good! That’s because, using the Apostle Paul’s judicial parlance, we have been justified through faith.
Let’s not be like the Jews who proudly walk on the way of the law being confident that they’d reach their destination. Thus, they do not see that there is “a rock” on their path that can make them stumble and fall. Rather, let’s be like the Gentiles who acknowledge their unworthiness and shame but clearly see and trust Christ for their redemption:
“See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame.”
—
or ‘justification,’ a juridical term that applies to the guilty party being forgiven and thus acquitted of any violations committed
What’s BDNF? Well, it doesn’t stand for ‘Brain Damage Not Funny’ but it’s something related to that.
I’m not going to just tell you or anyone who doesn’t know what BDNF is. And I’m not being selfish. I want you to do your own research and learn something new, TODAY! Doing so will already help increase the level of your BDNF!
Tough thing to do research? Nope! Why not? Have you heard of Google?
This morning I have already increased the level of my BDNF by drinking black coffee, exercising, and learning something new. And you would want to do something like that for yourself as well. And you don’t have to thank me for it. Just thank yourself later.
I said, “Good afternoon” and you responded with the same. But is it really a good afternoon?
Judging from the expressions on your faces, I’m not sure if it is.
How does your face express a good afternoon? Let me see it.
C’mon, everyone, let me see your face. (Pause to examine faces).
Here’s what some of the faces here look like: (mimic the sourest faces). Yongiba d’yanparang kakahigop lang ng Datu Puti vinegar.
Do you remember the old Datu Puti vinegar commercial? Mukhasim!
Mukhasim
Can you do the mukhasim look? Try it!
There you go—you’re now laughing.
Does it now feel like a really good afternoon?
Yeah? Great!
Life is lived on a day-to-day basis. So if we have more happy and meaningful days than sad and miserable ones, could we say that we’re living a good life?
Kidding around with granddaughter, Maddy
I think so!
Since we’re here to remember Brother Felix, based on our experiences with him, could we say that he lived a good life?
I believe so. I actually believe he lived a great life.
Happy Couple
The reason for me saying that is because as his name, Felix, suggests, he was a fortunate man. Felix means fortunate, lucky, or happy.
And that’s why I titled this message ‘Blessed Felix, the Fortunate One.’
People often associate fortune with material wealth, but what makes us happy has nothing to do with money.
One of the wealthiest men in the world, Warren Buffet, is the one who actually said something like that. Buffet, ‘The Oracle of Omaha,’ says his life is ‘a vacation every day’ and that ‘it has nothing to do with money.
He says that his financial success isn’t the root of his happiness but the fact that he enjoys his work and his loved ones.
“I can’t buy time, I can’t buy love but I can do anything else with money, pretty much. And why do I get up every day and jump out of bed and I’m excited at 88? It’s because I love what I do and love the people I do it with,” Buffet said.
Brother Felix was a guy who loved what he did, and the people he did it with.
I don’t know everything about Brother Felix but I know at least a couple of things he loved to do:
One, he loved to design his own outfit and I believe he was more than willing to design one for you if you had asked him. I hadn’t. That’s because I could not carry a flashy style like he did!
Remember his black pants that he custom-tailored with shiny leather-looking pockets?
Stylish St. Felix the Fortunate
If I’d wear something like that, I’d probably look like a jester. But Brother Felix–with a matching shirt and a hat that were customized as well—he wore his outfit like a rock star!
I wonder if any members of his family had worn any of his creations: anyone?
Another thing Brother Felix loved to do was to travel. Long road trips were his thing.
I still have to do one of his tips about how to stealth camp anywhere, including urban areas: get a big vehicle like a cargo van and just put a mattress in it!
Brother Felix wasn’t merely talking—he had done it himself! He actually bought a Ford cargo van and put a mattress in it!
Stealth Camper Van
Those are at least two of the things he loved to do and with the people he loved.
Who were the people he love?
Definitely his family.
With Loved Ones
But that we are here today might mean that we too were loved by him.
Brother Felix and I did not always see each other eye-to-eye, especially when I was his pastor. But we became good friends after I visited him at the hospital twice many years ago–in both cases he had a health condition that put his life at risk.
At St Rose (Siena) Hospital with family members
So I’d like to think that I’m one of the fortunate ones he loved as a friend. After all, my name’s meaning is similar to his—while his means ‘fortunate,’ mine means ‘fortune.’
I guess Fortune and Fortunate were both fortunate to have each other as a friend!
Brother Felix and sister Lily attends service and my 60th birthday celebration at Oasis Church on New Year’s Day 2017
In Hebrew, fortunate, can be rendered baruch which can be translated “blessed.”
In Ecclesiastes 26:1 we read, “Blessed is the man that hath a virtuous wife, for the number of his days shall be doubled” (KJV). I believe that that Scripture verse tells the truth about Brother Felix.
If I remember it right, brother Felix was born in poverty, was adopted, and did not have the opportunities privileged kids had. Because of hardship and the risk of living in the streets, his life could have ended when he was still a “barok,” a young man (in Ilocano language).
But barok found a home and was gifted by God with a good wife: sister Lily.
Brother Felix & Sister Lily’s Renewal of Vows
He was a fortunate man because he was blessed with a wife who truly loved him. And thus, I believe, his life was prolonged; he lived twice as long.
Last but definitely not least, Brother Felix believed in God and that’s why he was a fortunate man. He was blessed.
Psalm 144:15 reads, “…blessed is the people whose God is the Lord” (NIV).
Brother Felix was one of those people. That’s why he was blessed.
PENnED 